Tennis Betting: US Open Update

Details

Created: Friday, 04 September 2015 16:00

We are three rounds in to the US Open (two round completed on the women’s side), and while most of the major contenders are still around, there have been quite a few upsets in both the men’s singles and women’s singles brackets. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have advanced with little trouble, but some of their top competition have already fallen.

Three of the top 16 seeded players on the men’s side couldn’t advance past the first round. The major upset in this bracket saw fourth-seeded Kei Nishikori fall in five sets against Benoit Paire.

The top seeds are still listed as big favorites as we enter the round of 32. Djokovic matchup odds against Andreas Seppi isn’t even offered at some of the online sportsbooks. Second-ranked Roger Federer is a big 20:1 choice to advance, while Murray is laying 17:1 odds after that big scare.

Many more upsets on the women’s side, with seven of the top ten seeds already eliminated after two rounds of play. That includes last year’s runner-up Caroline Wozniacki, who fell 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 in the second round (Wozniacki was one of the main contenders with +1150 future odds).

Top seed Serena Williams was an overwhelming -175 favorite to win at the start of the tournament, and anyone who bets on tennis that backed her has to love the way the first two rounds have played out.

The strongest remaining opponent for Serena Williams on her path to the Championship Match is 13th ranked Belinda Bencic, who is a small -150 favorite against Serena’s sister Venus. Going into the tournament, the biggest challenger in the eyes of the online sportsbooks was 20th ranked Victoria Azarenka (paying +375), and she has looked strong so far.

According to most sportsbook reviews website, Azarkenka is a -200 favorite to get past 11th seeded Angelique Kerber in a featured match on Friday. Second ranked Simona Halep is a 13:1 favorite to advance to the round of 32, while Serena is the biggest chalk on the board with tennis bettors needing to lay 25:1 odds.

More upsets are certainly on the way, and if the first two rounds of the Women’s Singles tournament showed anything it’s that seeding means very little unless you’re at the very top. We’ll be back next week to check in and see how the contenders are faring, and how the online sportsbook is reacting.